


Nobody Needs to Know

by quiverby



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-03-10 07:24:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3281927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiverby/pseuds/quiverby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten years after the case was solved, Souji Seta finds himself comfortable, or so he thinks. Things are going well until a friend comes back into his life to irrevocably change everything again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Look Like an Angel

_“Naoto-kun! Hang in there,. we’re getting an ambulance. Just stay with us, ok? Senpai’s got you, see?”_

_“How crazy can she be? Walkin’ in here like that, and doin’ that to Naoto of all people.”_

_“Kanji, don’t let her go. I’m trying to get Dojima-san on the phone, and then we’ll get her out of here.”_

_“I seem to have lost my hat… but no matter, it’s evidence anyway. You can fix it later, correct, Kanji-kun?”_

_“Stay with us, Naoto-kun. Don’t give up. You’re the one who never gives up.”_

_“Naoto… I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I love you…”_

_How did it come to this? Naoto lying in his lap, bleeding furiously from a head wound from a broken bottle, his friends panicking around him. It was the worst mess he could think of, and he, for once in his life, didn’t know how to get out of it._

_\---_

_Six Months Previous_

Life was comfortable in Inaba. Or at least that’s what Souji was trying to tell himself. He was there with most of his friends, he was living with a girlfriend who adored him, his job as a therapist was going well, and he was happy, right? So why did he sometimes feel like something was missing? His mind kept wandering back to that one glorious year, his first in Inaba, when everything was new, and they all had to band together to solve that case. Was it just that it was new, or had the Team actually grown apart? Kanji and Yukiko were busy with their respective businesses, Chie had odd hours on the police force, Yosuke was bouncing through jobs in Okina and Inaba, begrudgingly going back to Junes every year or so, Naoto was off in Tokyo getting more famous by the day it seemed, and Rise was this generation’s rising star of an actor. They did get together, about once a week, though, in the food court at Junes, minus Naoto and Rise, and sometimes with Kou or Daisuke or Nanako, but it just never felt the same. He’d fallen back into a relationship with Ai after returning to Inaba after college, and she seemed happy enough with it. Everyone around him was happy, and, in theory, he should be as well.

All of these things ran through his mind as he sat in an Atzrbucks in Okina, taking a quiet moment for himself after a day of patients. And then, everything changed. A familiar voice almost made him knock his coffee over.

“Senpai?” Looking up, he could not help but grin. Standing in front of him, in her traditional blue coat and hat was Naoto, a tentative smile on her face. She hadn’t changed a bit in the two years since he’d seen her in person, and somehow that was extremely comforting.

He got up to hug her. She was a bit startled, but easily returned the hug. “Naoto! It’s good to see you. I didn’t realize that you were going to be in Okina today.”

Pulling back, Naoto smiled a bit, and shrugged her tiny shoulders. “It was somewhat of a last-minute thing. I have been called in on a case here, and had some time to wander around after my meeting before jumping into the case tomorrow. It would seem good fortune that I met you here.”

Souji couldn’t help but laugh at her subtle pun. “Well, I would be a fool to turn down time with you, Naoto. Have a seat.”

“I would like to get a coffee first, Souji, but I will join you when I return.” She smiled, hand going to the brim of her hat in a very familiar gesture before disappearing to the counter, only to re-appear a few minutes later, just as Souji decided to sit down.

She pulled out a chair and sat down, putting her coffee on the table and looking at him with that intent look on her face. Before he could ask her how she was, she leaned back, somehow satisfied, and nodded. “What is wrong, Senpai? You are not as sharp as you usually are, and you are showing signs of both malaise and tiredness.”

He opened his mouth to rebut the argument, but shook his head. Naoto was right. She always was. “It’s been a long few months. I have missed you.”

Naoto seemed startled by his words, but simply took a sip of her coffee. “Is it me in particular that you miss, or is it the team being together? I have heard from Kanji-kun and Yukiko-senpai that things have changed quite a bit for everyone in Inaba. Kanji-kun especially has mentioned that people seem to be drifting apart.”

“That’s one way to put it, yes.” Souji sighed at Naoto’s casual mention of Kanji and the resurgence of the honorific for him. Their breakup the year after college was both painful and eventually, he was fairly certain, what drove Naoto out of Inaba. “I know that we have all grown since high school, but sometimes, it feels a bit much."

“You miss the togetherness we had.” There was a tiny smile on Naoto’s face, one that made his heart jump and reminded him of how much he’d cared for her once upon a time. “I believe we all do, Senpai. I am, to be perfectly honest, feeling lonely again as well. Perhaps that is why I accepted this case when I had other offers.”

Souji smiled, glancing at a clock on the wall. “If I know you, Naoto, you have not had dinner yet. What would you say to going and getting something together and catching up? I do not particularly have to be anywhere tonight.”

She looked startled, cautious for a moment, which made him hope that he had not said the wrong thing, however, as she smiled, he relaxed for what felt like the first time in months, if not years. “I think that sounds wonderful, Senpai. I do not have to be anywhere tonight, and dinner with you is much better than Featherman reruns alone in a hotel room.”

That smirky-smile was back on her face, and his heart leaped again. Perhaps if Naoto could be persuaded to come back, the group could come back together. Standing up, he offered her a hand, which he almost regretted before she laughed. “Are you certain, Senpai? Escorting me like that might tarnish your reputation.”

“Taking an old friend out to dinner? Hardly, Naoto-kun.” She accepted his arm with another small smile, and then they were off.

Dinner went by in a whirl of reminiscences and conversation, and, as Naoto didn’t seem in any hurry to go back to her hotel, nor did he really want to leave yet, he suggested a small club near the center of town. Without any thought, Naoto agreed, and they were off. A couple drinks later, she was obviously feeling it, leaning on him heavily. Looking down at her, he straightened her hat. “Come on, Naoto, we should get you back to your hotel.”

She looked up, and nodded, pulling him unsteadily outside and hailing a cab. Once they were back at her hotel, she sat on the bed with a sigh. “You probably want to get home, correct?” Suddenly, she seemed even smaller than usual. “I had a wonderful evening with you, Senpai.”

Perhaps against his better judgement, perhaps finally giving into something that had been lying dormant for years, he sat down beside her, and leaned in, kissing her gently. After a squeak, she responded, throwing her arms around him. When he finally pulled back, he took one of her hands, looking into her eyes. “I have truly missed you, Naoto.”

“I as well, Senpai.” A pause. “But you are with Ebihara, are you not? I would not wish to get in the middle of that.”

He sighed, looking down at the ugly carpet of the room. “Yes, I am. I don’t care for her, though. I have tried to shake her off, but, well…” He hadn’t, it was a lie, but at least vocalizing that was somehow easier than admitting that he had just gotten too lazy to tell her that he didn’t care anymore. Besides, the sex was decent. Or so he thought. He had felt more alive in the couple of minutes’ kiss with Naoto than he had in five years’ worth of sex.

“I doubt that, Senpai.” Naoto wobbled a bit, pulling her legs up on the bed with her. “You have likely gotten too complacent to shake her off.” She pauses. “What is it that you want, though?”

“You, Naoto.” It came out before he really could even stop it. “I want to be with you. I can’t openly just yet, but I will I promise.”

The long pause that followed almost panicked him for a moment, her intense gaze looking deeper into his soul than any Velvet Room resident ever did. Eventually, she nodded. “Against some of my better judgement, that is what I want as well, Sen… Souji.”

He grinned at her use of his given name for the first time and nodded, kissing her on the cheek. “We can figure out the details later. You are too drunk for anything else tonight, but if you want, I will stay with you.”

Naoto nodded, leaning up to kiss him again, shorter this time. “I agree. Thank you, Souji, for not taking advantage of the situation.”

“I care for you, Naoto. The last thing I want to do is take advantage of you.” He gently took her hat off and put it on a bedside table. A few minutes later, as he drifted off to sleep, an arm around her, for the first time in years, he smiled. Things were finally going well.


	2. Maybe I Could Be In Love With Someone

_“Senpai? Snap out of it, the ambulance is here. They gotta put her on the stretcher.”_

_“I… I promised her, Kanji.”_

_“I did too, Senpai. We’ll make sure she makes it.”_

_“Yes. She has to.”_

\---

_One Month Previous_

[ **DetectivePrince** ] 22:30: Kanji-kun, do you have a moment?

[ **TatsumiTextiles** ] 22:34: ‘Course, Naoto. What’s up?

[ **DetectivePrince** ] 22:34: I need some advice. Can we meet? 

[ **TatsumiTextiles** ] 22:35: Shit. It’s gotta be bad if you’re asking me for advice at ten at night. Can’t it wait ‘till morning? 

[ **DetectivePrince** ] 22:36: In theory, yes. It is not time sensitive. However, it is keeping me from sleep, and distracting me from my work. 

[ **TatsumiTextiles** ] 22:36: Fuck, Naoto, it has to be bad if it’s got you that off-kilter. 

[ **DetectivePrince** ] 22:37: Thank you, Kanji-kun. I will be there in about ten minutes. Perhaps we can go for a walk? 

[ **TatsumiTextiles** ] 22:38: If you’re sure that’s the best place for it.

[ **DetectivePrince** ] 22:39: I will see you soon. 

[ **DetectivePrince** ] has signed off.

\---

Exactly ten minutes later, Naoto pulled up outside of the textile shop on her motorcycle, removing her helmet and dismounting slowly, looking around. Tiny Inaba had moved on from when she was in high school. New shops had opened in formerly-closed spaces, the liquor store had expanded into the bike shop next door and opened a bar, and there was now an entire skulk of foxes at the shrine. However, as she turned back to the textile shop, she couldn’t help a tiny, private smile. Some things never changed. The front of the shop, with its banners and traditional entrance, was no different from the days she’d meet Kanji there to walk to school together, or find a place to study. 

Before she could fall further into nostalgia, Kanji came running out from behind the shop, pulling on a jacket as he hurried over. “Hey. You ready?” 

Nodding, Naoto carefully put her helmet on her bike and her hands in her pockets, shivering a bit in the early fall chill. “Certainly. Thank you, Kanji-kun.” They walked in silence for a few minutes, away from the shopping district, subconsciously towards the hill above town. Halfway there, looking more at the path in front of them instead of Kanji, Naoto cut through the silence, voice quiet, words carefully chosen. “I have been seeing Souji-senpai.” After a moment, and a couple more steps, she added, “In a romantic manner.”

Glancing over, she saw Kanji almost fall over his own feet as he turned to stare down at her. “You _what_? Naoto, sometimes you surprise the hell out of me.” He ran a hand through his hair, and she could see a carefully controlled wince of emotion before he went on. “Huh. I didn’t know he had broken up with Ebihara, although Yukiko ‘n I have been busy lately, to be fair.” 

“He hasn’t.” Naoto pressed on before Kanji could interrupt. “That, as they say, is the rub here, Kanji-kun. I’ve seen this movie, I’ve _worked this case_ before. Man is with woman, man finds other woman, and one of them ends up dead, injured, or in prison. I know that I should insist he break it off with Ebihara-san before things go further, but he keeps telling me that he will. I have no reason to disbelieve him, he has always been truthful to us in the past, however, I cannot help but wonder why he is dragging his feet on this. Is it something I did? Am I little more than a fling to him?” 

“Woah, woah, stop right there, Naoto. Lemme ask you something.” Kanji stopped walking as they got to the hill, turning back to look down at her. “Why haven’t you stopped? What’s keeping you from just telling him to break up with her and then come back for you? I mean, if that’s what you say you should be doing, why ain’t you?” He scratched the back of his head in obvious confusion. “I mean, you’re usually the first one ‘f us to tell us to stop bein’ so emotional and think about things. Why’re you not doin’ it yourself?”

As always, Kanji was able to get to the heart of the issue before she would even admit it to herself. The issue was less that Souji wasn’t breaking up with Ebihara, it was that she wasn’t insisting he do so. It was a while before she could bring herself to say anything at all. “To be perfectly honest, Kanji-kun, I do not know. Perhaps I am afraid that I am deluding myself and he does not truly care for me, and never has. I realize I’m being utterly stupid about the entire thing, but for once, I can honestly say it is not that simple. I cannot explain my emotions surrounding the entire matter, as everything is so conflicted in my mind. I care for him in a way that I cannot put words to. It is an intense feeling that I have never felt before.” 

“You love him, then.” Kanji nodded, as if some things were falling into place for him. “If you didn’t love him, you wouldn’t be tyin’ yourself up in so many knots over it. Hell, I think I always knew on some level you connected with him more ‘n you ever did with me.” It obviously hurt him to say it, but before Naoto could say anything, he went on. “Just… don’t be stupid, Naoto. If he loves you, he’ll come back to you after he’s broken up with Ebihara.” 

“But…” The words started tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. “What if he doesn’t come back to me? What if he is using me or something? I know that he doesn’t truly care for Ebihara, he’s said as much, and I believe him in that… but..”

“Will you listen to yourself, ya idiot?!” Kanji’s voice cut her off, raised a bit more like the punk teenager he was than the somewhat calmer craftsman he’d become. “This is Senpai we’re talking about. He cares about everyone. Yeah, we’ve all drifted apart, but he wouldn’t do that to any of us, least of all you. Get it together, Naoto.” A tiny smile crossed Naoto’s face at Kanji’s words. He had always been there for her, no matter what they were facing. Before she could respond, however, Kanji continued. “I’ll pull you through this. All you gotta do is go tell him that you don’t think it’s fair to Ebihara or you to keep this up. It ain’t that easy, I know that, but you’re the strongest one of us all, Naoto. You can do it.” 

“Thank you, Kanji-kun.” She couldn’t help a comfortable smile on her face. “No matter where I go, or what happens, I know that you’ll be there for me.” Time passed on the hill as they spoke about the past and the future, and laughed together. 

Eventually, as the sun rose, they walked back to the shop together, and Naoto smiled, a full smile for the first time in a while. Things were actually going to work out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I realized I was writing the wrong thing and got stuck for a while! Hopefully this will go a bit quicker now.


End file.
